Spring Break
SJSU-Fresno State rivalry game has bowl implications
QB Reed's status up in the air
Matthew Kimel
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Sports
The SJSU football team will play what head coach Dick Tomey deemed as the "biggest game" game of his tenure when hosting Fresno State Friday night in a nationally televised game.
With a winning record and bowl game hopes on the line for the Spartans (6-5, 4-3 Western Athletic Conference), Tomey said the "biggest thing is just to beat Fresno," laughingly.
"Take all the rest of it, if we are playing them in a parking lot and nobody is going to be there, it's a huge game," he said. "And so you add all the rest of the stuff and it's a double huge game."
The Bulldogs (6-4, 3-3 WAC) were the "odds-on favorite" to win the conference in the preseason Tomey said, yet now face a similar must win situation as the Spartans. Having won 13 of the last 14 against the Spartans, the Bulldogs lead the all-time series 36-34-3 that begun in 1921.
Bulldog head coach Pat Hill, who was an offensive coordinator and line coach for Tomey at the University of Arizona, has won 10 of 11 contests against the Spartans.
"This is a team that goes back the longest in history with Fresno State," Hill said in a teleconference on Monday. "This year's game, there is a lot on the line."
Since 1991, the only SJSU victory over Fresno State was a 24-14 win at Spartan Stadium in 2006. The home team has won the last three times the two teams have met.
Junior quarterback Kyle Reed got knocked out of last week's game against Nevada with a groin injury. Tomey said the Spartan quarterback situation is going to be evaluated throughout the week. A game time decision will be made to name the starter, he said.
Reed completed 15 of 27 attempts for 215 yards as the Spartans fell 41-17 to the Wolf Pack. Backup senior Sean Flynn threw for 86 yards completing 5 of 14 and the offense recorded a total of minus-23 rushing yards.
"Nevada's got the second best run defense in the country," Tomey said, "Nobody has run the ball against them. People have thrown the ball against them with regularity."
With a winning record and bowl game hopes on the line for the Spartans (6-5, 4-3 Western Athletic Conference), Tomey said the "biggest thing is just to beat Fresno," laughingly.
"Take all the rest of it, if we are playing them in a parking lot and nobody is going to be there, it's a huge game," he said. "And so you add all the rest of the stuff and it's a double huge game."
The Bulldogs (6-4, 3-3 WAC) were the "odds-on favorite" to win the conference in the preseason Tomey said, yet now face a similar must win situation as the Spartans. Having won 13 of the last 14 against the Spartans, the Bulldogs lead the all-time series 36-34-3 that begun in 1921.
Bulldog head coach Pat Hill, who was an offensive coordinator and line coach for Tomey at the University of Arizona, has won 10 of 11 contests against the Spartans.
"This is a team that goes back the longest in history with Fresno State," Hill said in a teleconference on Monday. "This year's game, there is a lot on the line."
Since 1991, the only SJSU victory over Fresno State was a 24-14 win at Spartan Stadium in 2006. The home team has won the last three times the two teams have met.
Junior quarterback Kyle Reed got knocked out of last week's game against Nevada with a groin injury. Tomey said the Spartan quarterback situation is going to be evaluated throughout the week. A game time decision will be made to name the starter, he said.
Reed completed 15 of 27 attempts for 215 yards as the Spartans fell 41-17 to the Wolf Pack. Backup senior Sean Flynn threw for 86 yards completing 5 of 14 and the offense recorded a total of minus-23 rushing yards.
"Nevada's got the second best run defense in the country," Tomey said, "Nobody has run the ball against them. People have thrown the ball against them with regularity."
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